Sunday, April 30, 2017

10x10.25 alcohol inks on white foamcore board done yesterday as part of a floral marathon to create three in one day. These abstract imaginary blooms are sure to brighten anyone's day.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

14x11 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper done today after a quick pencil contour drawing. I put in darks first as I usually do beginning with quinacridone magenta in the top rose, then permanent rose, wetting areas here and there. Some dry edges were left and some lost edges remain in this impressionist painting bouquet.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Friday, April 28, 2017

5.5x8.5 watercolor and ink on Bienfang for mixed media sketchbook done today. Our WetCanvas challenge was to select an image and do a contour line drawing of it then paint it all within 2 hours. I accomplished the goal in 1 hour/10 minutes.

Staedtler 0.3 pigment liner pen, an ink contour line and some blind contour line of Sarah, the bulldog.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

5x7 ink sketch on Bristol cropped at that size on a 9x12 sheet. Tombow black brush pen was used to put in darks first followed by a rigger brush dipped in water to make the grey areas; white is the white of the paper. I loved the long cast shadows the cattle made in my original photograph.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

5x7 watercolor and ink using Staedtler 0.3 pigment liner pen on old discarded book page done today. Ref courtesy WetCanvas from current weekend drawing event in which participants have 30 minutes to choose an image and 2 hours to complete; mine took about 1 hour. The ref had mounted horses running behind these in front but I omitted the riders and just showed the herd of wild steeds.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

11x14 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper done today in about 2 hours. This one is with a group of other floral images I've featured on a WetCanvas April challenge. I decided to not let the stems touch the paper bottom and might go back into it and add a green background using Brusho.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Monday, April 24, 2017

8x10 alcohol inks on white foamcore board done today on the backside of a failed AI from yesterday. This reminded me of red cactus flowers blooming right now in town. Only three colors of ink used here green, yellow and red.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

7.25x4.75 watercolor and ink line on discarded book page done a few days ago. Since this panther was out hunting for prey the chapter title I thought would be a great painting title. Ref photo is courtesy of Pat in the WetCanvas Animals & Wildlife forum April challenge. Micron 01 pen used to sketch the cat.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith

Saturday, April 22, 2017

10.25x9 watercolor and ink on paper done today plein air with Watercolor Horizons group. We had a paint out at Alldredge Gardens in Midland, TX. With temps in the low 50s and a north wind blowing, I chose to stay inside the building and sketch from life. I've been a member of the Odessa WH group for many years now and it was encouraging to see a new member bringing her two young sons with their art supplies. Earth Day is a good time to connect with plants. This was drawn with Micron 01 pen.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Friday, April 21, 2017

15x11 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done today using no reference and little pencil drawing. I used the back side of the paper as it is slicker and allows for freer runs, drips, and blooms when water is spritzed with a fine mister. In this vignette two orange red poppies were painted with Daniel Smith transparent pyrrol orange, aureolin, permanent rose, gamboge, indigo, ultramarine, quinacridone orange, cerulean, thalo yellow green, and green gold. Tomorrow I'll join our Odessa painters, the Watercolor Horizons group at Alldredge Gardens for an all day plein air paint out, so watch for more luscious and loose florals here on this blog.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

7x5 alcohol inks on Yupo, synthetic paper, painted Tuesday night. I have used Indigo ink and Emerald ink colors along with canned air to blow from its base upwards. Background is left the white of the Yupo. Although there are black tulips I've not ever seen an indigo hued bloom.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

11x9 alcohol inks on white 3/18" foamcore board done this evening as a quickie since studio time was short today. Only four colors of ink was used along with canned air to force ink to spread upwards and in streaks. Background is left white of the board and is not enhanced. Tulip stem is made with drops of ink on tip of a wooden chopstick to control it; I used two greens, Juniper and Lime. Flower bottom edges were smoothed using cotton swab tip dipped in 91% alcohol.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

7x11 alcohol inks on Yupo medium weight synthetic paper done this afternoon as I was in an iris mood. They're blooming everywhere you look. With this floral abstraction I've used three colors of ink: Indigo, Eggplant, and Watermelon. Canned air was used to blow the ink from the bottom up and the white of the paper is its only background for simplicity.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Monday, April 17, 2017

30x8 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper completed today. As a lotus seed pod fan, when I first saw these green ones on long stems I knew they must be painted. Here they reside in a grey tall vase with vertical textural lines. The dramatic darks in the background set the stage for the light greens in this still life.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

12x9 watercolor Brusho completed yesterday; sketched in pencil on a sheet of Canson put behind larger work you can see the chickadee peeping out. Featured on current weekend drawing event on WetCanvas, the refs provided by Bonnie, the host, showed a fake bird in a nursery garden. I had turned it horizontally in a landscape format but like it better vertical/portrait. I used blue and black Brusho crystals on dry paper to start. The pink lilac was already on the paper as was the turquoise blue Brusho area.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Saturday, April 15, 2017

7x5 alcohol inks on Yupo transparent (by Tim Holtz) done today for my Easter floral. A bit abstract and contemporary, this flower has orange and yellow mainly along with a bit of green and pink/purple in the background. For the blue I used Stream diluted with 91% alcohol and blending fluid.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Friday, April 14, 2017

6x9 watercolor and Brusho on Canson 140 lb. cold press paper done today as part of our Watermedia forum April challenge. Hosted by fellow artist Joanne Nemeth, Ziggy is one of her three male cats who happen to be brothers. I sprinkled Brusho on dry paper then made small brush water marks letting the pigments run. After blending orange and yellow, I added ultramarine blue to the rest plus black. Brush work and negative painting were then done and finally stamping his cat bed with bubble wrap painted with quinacridone violet completed the pet portrait.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith

Thursday, April 13, 2017

5.5x8 watercolor and ink line (Micron 01 pen) on Bienfang mixed media sketchbook done today. The English ref is courtesy of Bonnie in Canada who hosted our last weekend's drawing event on WetCanvas. Some of the graffiti text was about Charlie Hebdo and the 2015 attack there in France.Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2017.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

5.5x8.5 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook paper completed today. Yesterday's ink sketch with Micron 01 and 05 pens is featured below. This was part of a monthly challenge in the Pen & Ink forum on WetCanvas; reference courtesy vmrs from ref image library. Splatters were added with raw umber and a mixed grey when dry to imitate leaves.
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

18x11.5 watercolor work in progress is now complete. There is a window behind the blooms. The rest of the white, pink, and lilac colored hydrangea heads were put in with their dark leaves followed by the blue vase and its rusty areas. The bottom portion does not show here but extends down a little more. Splattering with various colors including thalo yellow green was done when dry.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Monday, April 10, 2017

18x11.5 watercolor work in progress (WIP) begun a few days ago using only a 1" flat sable brush. Sketched in pencil on wet Canson 140 lb cold press paper, I put in the varied greens in the background first, not the darks first I usually begin doing. Next was pale pink and white hydrangea blooms followed by deeper pink and peach toned ones. The old vase colors were actually two: Blue Bice and Andrew's turquoise. I was inspired by my own plants that have leafed out by the front door and am trying for a nice and soft floral arrangement. Stay tuned for the finish.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

7x11 alcohol inks on Yupo done today for Palm Sunday and in honor of those Egyptian Christians attacked and killed while worshipping. Aqua used for the sky, Willow, Botanical and Sunbright Yellow for green areas, and new Flamingo at flower top along with Valencia (also new), Poppyfield, and Senorita Magenta for the entire flower.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

9x12 watercolor, gouache, ink, and acrylic on Canson 140 lb cold pess paper done today for National Draw a Bird Day. It is almost as if he is singing and notes are the colored marks in acrylic coming out in song. I've used a sheet of wc paper as backing underneath smaller works and these are the random marks seen. Each year I try to remember 8 April is a day for artists to remember birds; multiple refs online used to sketch the flowering tree, branches and the swallow. An oblong black ink mark fit nicely underneath his tail feathers while a white dogwood blossoms behind.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Friday, April 7, 2017

5x7.25 watercolor and gouache over ink line with Micron 01 pen done yesterday, another black & white bunny in my series. Sketched on old discarded book page paper this little animal could hop right into your lap while we wait for Easter to arrive.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

18x10 alcohol inks on paper done yesterday after starting it the day before using only two warm colors of Senorita Magenta and Sunbright Yellow inks (Pinata). Stem was put in with a wooden chopstick, dropping Lime Green and Juniper to its tip then the tip to the paper. The abstract flower has an inner beauty as the viewer can see into it practically with its transparency. This could be a parrot tulip or some other bloom.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

12x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper sketched this weekend then finished yesterday in the studio. The adobe sits in New Mexico and could not resist the ladder shadows and building side shadows in that amazing light that exists only there.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

7.25x5 watercolor and gouache over ink line drawing with Micron 01 pen done over the weekend. As a companion piece to Rabbit Days, this black and white rabbit is sketched on a novel page from a discarded book. He appears ready to hop right onto your lap with this macro view.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Saunders Waterford. These climbing white roses were by our front steps and I snapped
several photos when they were blooming at their peak then painted them. Not
happy with the mid section it was reworked and more negative leaves, stems, and
thorns added. My favorite part is the rosebud upper right. It was painted wet
in wet and colors allowed to mix and mingle. Daniel Smith paints used.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Artist's Statement

"Working from dark to light provides me with immediate gratification seeing value comparisons. Whether I'm painting architectural subjects, animals, floral or still life, I am always looking for the darks first. By establishing these values early, I'm better able to judge the values that follow.

Since creating art is a solitary pursuit, I become absorbed and as one with the painting. Initial excitement usually drives me headlong into a sketching mode with or without value studies. Primarily I work from photographs.

I paint because I have to paint; I want to show you what I see. Viewing my works will be a revelation of who I am.